Restaurant in Etterbeek, Belgium
Italian precision in a French-dominated neighbourhood.
Le Buone Maniere holds consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) and a 4.4 Google rating at €€€€ pricing — the only Italian restaurant in Etterbeek operating at this level of recognition. Bookings are straightforward, and solo diners should ask about counter seating. If you want serious Italian cooking in the EU quarter rather than another French option, this is the booking to make.
If you are deciding between Le Buone Maniere and the French-leaning restaurants that dominate the Etterbeek dining scene, the Italian focus here is the clearest reason to choose it. Stirwen and Le Monde est Petit both deliver accomplished modern French cooking at €€€, but Le Buone Maniere sits at €€€€ and earns consecutive Michelin Plates for 2024 and 2025 — the kind of recognition that signals consistent kitchen discipline, not a one-season peak. For a returning diner already familiar with the room, the question is not whether it is worth trying but whether you are using the visit as well as you could.
Le Buone Maniere sits on Avenue de Tervueren in Etterbeek, a broad tree-lined boulevard that connects central Brussels to the leafy communes further east. The address is residential in character and quieter than the central city, which shapes the atmosphere before you even walk through the door. This is not a loud room built around spectacle. The Italian kitchen here operates with the kind of focus that suits a neighbourhood where the expectation is a serious dinner rather than a scene.
Two consecutive Michelin Plates — awarded for 2024 and renewed for 2025 , confirm that the kitchen maintains a standard worth returning to. The Michelin Plate designation sits below the star tier but signals food that inspires inspectors to write it down. At €€€€ pricing, that matters: you are paying at a level where the Plate is a floor, not a ceiling, and the 4.4 rating across 242 Google reviews suggests the room consistently delivers on that premise to diners outside the guide system as well.
For a returning visitor, the editorial angle worth thinking about here is counter or bar seating. Italian restaurants at this price point often have a formal dining room that sets the register for the whole evening, but proximity to the kitchen , where the pace and rhythm of service are clearest , tends to reward the diner who already knows the menu's contours. If counter or chef's table positions are available, a second visit is the right moment to ask. You have already read the room from a distance; sitting closer to the action gives you a different kind of access to the cooking. The kitchen's composure under service pressure, the timing between courses, and the precision of plating are all more legible from that vantage point, and they are the signals that tell you whether you are in a restaurant that can sustain its Michelin recognition or one coasting on it.
The Italian category at this price tier in Brussels has limited direct competition. For context on what €€€€ Italian cooking looks like at its most technically ambitious globally, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and cenci in Kyoto represent what the format can reach when a kitchen is fully committed. Le Buone Maniere is working in a different register , neighbourhood fine dining rather than destination tasting-menu territory , but the comparison is useful for calibrating what you should expect when Italian cooking carries this price tag. Consecutive Michelin recognition in Belgium, where the guide applies consistent pressure across categories, is not a minor credential. For broader context on Belgium's fine dining tier, Hof van Cleve, Boury, and Zilte anchor the country's top tier; Le Buone Maniere is not competing at that level, but its consistency earns it a clear position below those restaurants and above casual Italian dining in the city.
Avenue de Tervueren's character means the restaurant draws a local clientele alongside visitors to the EU quarter. That mix tends to produce a room that is professionally run without being stiff , the kind of atmosphere where the service register is formal enough to match the price but not so ceremonial that a solo diner or a couple feels watched. For comparison within Brussels, Bozar Restaurant in the centre operates in a similarly considered register but with a different architectural context and a French-leaning menu. Le Buone Maniere's Italian focus is its clearest point of difference in the local market.
Practical details: Reservations: Booking difficulty is rated Easy , reservations are advisable but availability is not the constraint it would be at a starred venue. Book ahead to secure your preferred time rather than scrambling last minute. Budget: €€€€ , plan for a full-evening spend at the upper end of the Etterbeek dining bracket. Dress: No published dress code, but the price point and Michelin recognition suggest smart-casual as a practical baseline. Getting there: Avenue de Tervueren is well-connected by tram from central Brussels. Group size: Suited to couples and small groups; solo diners should ask about bar or counter positions when booking.
See the comparison section below for a full breakdown against Stirwen, Le Monde est Petit, Origine, and Maison Antoine.
For a broader view of the neighbourhood's dining options, see our full Etterbeek restaurants guide. If you are planning a stay in the area, our Etterbeek hotels guide covers accommodation options nearby. Pearl also covers bars, wineries, and experiences across the commune. For Belgian fine dining beyond Etterbeek, Vrijmoed in Gent, Willem Hiele in Oudenburg, and d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour are worth the journey.
It is a reasonable solo choice, particularly if you can secure counter or bar seating. The room's atmosphere , formal enough to match the €€€€ price but not ceremonial , means solo diners do not feel conspicuous. Ask specifically about bar positions when booking; proximity to the kitchen suits the solo diner who wants to engage with the meal rather than simply wait between courses. Compared to Origine, which operates at €€, Le Buone Maniere costs more but the Michelin Plate recognition gives the solo visit more to anchor itself to.
We do not have confirmed details on whether a tasting menu format is offered, so contact the restaurant directly before booking with that expectation. What the consecutive Michelin Plates for 2024 and 2025 do confirm is that the kitchen operates at a standard where a structured multi-course format, if available, would be worth considering. At €€€€ pricing, you are already in territory where a full progression of courses makes sense as the way to experience what the kitchen can do. If a tasting menu is not on offer, ask when booking what the kitchen recommends as a complete evening.
Yes, with the caveat that €€€€ is a commitment. The consecutive Michelin Plates , a credential the guide does not award without meaningful inspection , and a 4.4 rating from 242 Google reviews both support the price. Compared to Stirwen at €€€, you are paying a tier higher for Italian cooking with consistent Michelin recognition. If French is your preference and you want to spend less, Stirwen is the better call. If you want Italian at a serious level in Etterbeek, Le Buone Maniere is the only option in the category with this kind of credential behind it.
Specific dish details are not available in our current data , contact the restaurant or check their current menu before visiting. What the Michelin Plate recognition suggests is that the kitchen's core Italian cooking is the reason to be there, not peripheral options. For a returning diner, the practical move is to ask the front-of-house which dishes the kitchen considers its most considered work this season. That question, asked at booking or on arrival, almost always produces a more useful answer than a printed menu alone.
We do not have confirmed seating configuration data for this venue, so verify directly when booking. That said, at a €€€€ Italian restaurant with Michelin Plate recognition, asking about counter or bar seating is always worth doing , particularly for solo diners or couples who want a more immediate connection to the kitchen's rhythm. If bar seating is available, it is generally the better format for a second visit, when you already know what the room can do and want a different angle on the cooking.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Le Buone Maniere | €€€€ | — |
| Stirwen | €€€ | — |
| Le Monde est Petit | €€€ | — |
| Origine | €€ | — |
| Maison Antoine | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
It can work for solo diners, but Le Buone Maniere's €€€€ price point makes the spend harder to justify alone without a tasting menu format to structure the experience. Check whether counter or bar seating is available before booking solo — at this level in Etterbeek, the room is likely formal enough that solo guests may feel more comfortable at lunch than dinner. Stirwen, nearby, may offer a more relaxed solo experience at a lower price tier.
If the kitchen is executing at Michelin Plate level — which it has held consecutively in 2024 and 2025 — a tasting menu is the format that justifies €€€€ pricing here. The Italian focus differentiates it from the French-leaning tasting menus that dominate this part of Brussels, which matters if you're choosing between several fine-dining bookings on a trip. That said, specific menu details aren't confirmed in our data, so verify the current format directly with the restaurant before booking.
At €€€€, Le Buone Maniere is priced at the top of Etterbeek's dining bracket — and the back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 supports that positioning. For Italian cuisine specifically, this is the most credentialed option in the neighbourhood. If you're comparing it against Origine or Le Monde est Petit for a similar spend, the Italian specialism here is the deciding factor; go elsewhere if you want French technique at this price.
Specific dishes aren't confirmed in our data, so we won't guess. What we can say is that the Italian cuisine focus at Michelin Plate standard in 2024 and 2025 suggests the kitchen has a clear point of view — ask the team what's leading the menu that week when you book. At €€€€, you're paying for the full kitchen showcase, so lean toward whatever the chef is pushing rather than ordering à la carte conservatively.
Bar seating isn't confirmed in our data for Le Buone Maniere. At a €€€€ Italian restaurant on Avenue de Tervueren with consecutive Michelin Plate recognition, the room is likely table-service focused rather than bar-forward. check the venue's official channels to confirm — if bar or counter dining matters to you, Maison Antoine in the same neighbourhood operates in a completely different format and price tier.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
